Motor City Machine Guns Sign With AEW - Debut On Collision (AEW News)
Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley have signed with AEW after WWE clauses lapse.
Motor City Machine Guns pair Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley debuted on Thursday's episode of AEW Collision in Detroit, Michigan. The former TNA, New Japan, ROH and WWE tag-team opened the show by saying they were delighted to finally be #AllElite.
They also said that AEW is where the best wrestle. That's a familiar tagline the company and its roster uses.
Technically, this wasn't Motor City's All Elite debut though. They'd previously worked a trios match at All Out 2022. There, Sabin and Shelley teamed with Jay Lethal vs. FTR and Wardlow. They'd lose that bout, but it'd be a shock if some banner wins weren't winging their way towards the veterans sooner rather than later.
Sabin and Shelley were counting down the days until their 90-day WWE non-compete clauses lapsed. They'd recently put out a video hyping up where they might end up once they were able, and it turns out the rumours were true: They're in AEW and have signed full time contracts with Tony Khan's promotion.
MCMGs have held titles in practically every company they've worked for, but their WWE run died a slow death after a red hot start in late-2024. The team won WWE tag gold just a week after their debut on TV back then. They must've been hoping that this would represent the start of a long, successful run, but things didn't pan out that way.
It's also interesting that Khan chose to debut such a major act on 'B' show Collision. Some fans have already been pointing that out on social media.